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    27 Meaning of Agricultural Labour

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    Aman Singh
    Farm laborers, constituting about 23% of the rural population, have existed in subhuman conditions for centuries, exploited by landlords with little improvement until Independence. The Constitution mandates equal opportunity and assistance for weaker sections, giving the government responsibility to improve farm laborers' economic conditions. For increased agricultural production, farm workers must receive better treatment. Agricultural labor is divided into landless laborers working for others and small peasants with little land who work for others. Landless laborers are often permanently attached to estates and passed between owners, receiving payment in-kind rather than wages, and subject to forced labor. Most farm workers belong to depressed classes and castes that have long been neglected.

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    27 Meaning of Agricultural Labour

    Uploaded by

    Aman Singh
    22 views2 pages
    Farm laborers, constituting about 23% of the rural population, have existed in subhuman conditions for centuries, exploited by landlords with little improvement until Independence. The Constitution mandates equal opportunity and assistance for weaker sections, giving the government responsibility to improve farm laborers' economic conditions. For increased agricultural production, farm workers must receive better treatment. Agricultural labor is divided into landless laborers working for others and small peasants with little land who work for others. Landless laborers are often permanently attached to estates and passed between owners, receiving payment in-kind rather than wages, and subject to forced labor. Most farm workers belong to depressed classes and castes that have long been neglected.

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    Farm laborers, constituting about 23% of the rural population, have existed in subhuman conditions for centuries, exploited by landlords with little improvement until Independence. The Constitution mandates equal opportunity and assistance for weaker sections, giving the government responsibility to improve farm laborers' economic conditions. For increased agricultural production, farm workers must receive better treatment. Agricultural labor is divided into landless laborers working for others and small peasants with little land who work for others. Landless laborers are often permanently attached to estates and passed between owners, receiving payment in-kind rather than wages, and subject to forced labor. Most farm workers belong to depressed classes and castes that have long been neglected.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    22 views2 pages

    27 Meaning of Agricultural Labour

    Uploaded by

    Aman Singh
    Farm laborers, constituting about 23% of the rural population, have existed in subhuman conditions for centuries, exploited by landlords with little improvement until Independence. The Constitution mandates equal opportunity and assistance for weaker sections, giving the government responsibility to improve farm laborers' economic conditions. For increased agricultural production, farm workers must receive better treatment. Agricultural labor is divided into landless laborers working for others and small peasants with little land who work for others. Landless laborers are often permanently attached to estates and passed between owners, receiving payment in-kind rather than wages, and subject to forced labor. Most farm workers belong to depressed classes and castes that have long been neglected.

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    Agricultural Labour: Meaning

    Farm labourers constituting about 23% of whole rural population


    have been existing in sub-human conditions for centuries. They
    have been exploited and ill-treated by the landlords. Till the dawn of
    Independence nothing was actually done to improve their lot.
    Under the Indian Constitution, everyone will have to be given equal
    opportunity in education, employment, etc.
    Further the Constitution demands that the Government shall be
    helpful to those sections of the society which are weak and
    backward. The Government has special responsibility for improving
    the economic conditions of the farm labourers.
    Further, in these days, increased farm production through better
    agricultural organisation and management has become a must.
    How can this be fully realised unless the farm workers are given a
    better treatment? It is in this context the improvement of the
    agricultural labour has assumed a special significance.
    Agricultural labour may be divided into two categories:
    (i) Landless labourers, working for others;

    (ii) Small peasants with very little land but who devote much time
    working for others.

    In category (i) of landless labourers, there are some who are


    attached permanently to some estates and when the latter are sold
    away, the labourers are passed on to the new owners. They do not
    normally receive wages in cash but are generally paid in kind. They
    have 10 labour for their masters and cannot shift from one to
    another.
    They have to provide ‘beggar’ or forced labour. The Kamay in Bihar,
    the Pannaiyal in Tamil Nadu, the Colis in Maharashtra, the Shalkari
    in M.P., the Charkar in Orissa etc., are landless labourers of
    category no. (i) They are almost slaves. But this type is gradually
    declining. The most common type is those landless workers who are
    independent permanently but work exclusively for them.
    Some data are available regarding the number of farm labour. The
    second Agricultural Labour Enquiry conducted in I960, stated that
    agricultural labour families constituted nearly 25% of all rural
    families. More than 85% of the rural workers are casual and
    independent serving any farmer who is willing to engage them and
    only 15% of agricultural labourers are attached to specific landlords.
    The number of surplus manpower in the family is indeed very small.
    More than 50% of the farm workers do not possess any land. Even
    the rest of them own only very little of land and are landless
    labourers. Most farm workers belong to the depressed classes which
    have been neglected for centuries. The low castes and the depressed
    classes have been socially handicapped and they bad never the
    courage to assert themselves and have been like dumb-driven cattle.

    Table 1 clearly shows the fact that the number of agricultural


    workers in India has been increasing continuously. Presently these
    are more than 112 million agricultural labour in India.

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